Bazinga! Dive Back into 'The Big Bang Theory' with New Podcast
New York Times Best Seller author Jessica Radloff hosts the weekly podcast that takes us inside the iconic CBS sitcom that ran from 2007-2019.
I wasn’t going to start this post out with a BAZINGA but it’s kind of impossible not to when we’re talking about that awesome sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. And while the popular CBS comedy starring Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard), Kunal Nayyar (Raj), Melissa Rauch (Bernadette) and Mayim Bialik (Amy), went off the air in 2019 after 12 high-rated seasons, the show is still ever-present not just in reruns but in the multiple spin-off series and a new podcast.
First, the spin-off series which started with Young Sheldon, a prequel comedy following a pre-teen Sheldon (Iain Armitage) living his genius life in Texas with his family in the late 1980s. That popular sitcom finished its seven-season run in 2024. But the story that began there continued last fall when Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage premiered and followed Sheldon’s simple-minded brother Georgie (Montana Jordan) and his fiery wife Mandy (Emily Osment). That comedy became a quick hit for CBS and has already been renewed for a second season.
As if that weren’t enough, another spin-off is potentially coming with Stuart Fails to Save the Universe starring fan favorite Kevin Sussman who returns as comic book store owner Stuart as well as Lauren Lapkus (as Stuart’s girlfriend Denise), Brian Posehn (Bert) and John Ross Bowie (Barry Kripke). The spin-off is at the pilot stage and hasn’t been officially greenlit yet but it seems a sure thing considering it’s written and executive produced by Chuck Lorre, who co-created and was an executive producer of Big Bang and all of its series, along with Zak Penn and Big Bang co-creator Bill Prady. Fingers crossed we’ll see this series on the air sooner than later.
In short, we’re still in love with The Big Bang Theory, which makes the start of The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast a few weeks ago excellent timing. Another amazing thing is the fact that the host and executive producer of the podcast is New York Times best-selling author Jessica Radloff, who penned the 2022 book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series and also happens to be someone I’ve been happily working alongside covering TV for a long time.
Here’s my zoom interview with Radloff where we talked about how the podcast came into her life, what she’s learned along the way and I also quizzed her on some random TBBT facts to see if she truly knows everything.
Listen to the podcast every week via the usual places like Apple, Spotify or anywhere else you get your podcast. You can also listen to it via MAX on The Big Bang Theory show page (go to EXTRAS to find the podcast episodes).
And if the podcast isn’t enough, Radloff’s 2022 book is the best companion to all things TBBT as Radloff does am even deeper dive into the entire 12 seasons of the sitcom with episode details and interviews with cast, creatives and so many more. Get your copy at your local bookstore to support independent booksellers or it can also be found at Amazon and everywhere books are sold.
Until next time…
Hey Jim, possessor of all tv knowledge - where can we find the unaired pilot? Big Bang is one of my all time favorites with lots of episodes to watch. What’s the longest running sitcom series? And then - what series has the most episodes??? It seems like seasons are so much shorter nowadays - - you know, back in the dark ages when I was a kid….. :). Love Coffee, TV & Me!
Thanks for sharing! The Big Bang Theory is very interesting to me as an academic scientist. I wrote about my takes here: https://feministscientist.substack.com/p/the-big-bang-theory-and-academic